CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT Department of Unnatural Phenomena (DUP) CASE FILE: 17-GRAFT-HOLLOW
SUBJECT: Graft Hollow Anomaly / Disappearance of Arthur Pike CLEARANCE LEVEL: BLACK RIBBON (EYES ONLY) DATE: August 3, 20██ COMPILED BY: Agent Mallory Keene, Field Division - Great Lakes Region
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SECTION 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The following report details the historical, ecological, and paranormal anomalies associated with Lake Graft and the subregion known as Graft Hollow, located in █████ County. This document also includes field notes, witness statements, and primary source documentation connected to the recent disappearance of Arthur Pike and the discovery of his journal, which has since been classified under Level 7 Cognitive Contagion Risk (CCR7).
Due to increasing signs of memetic leakage and psycho-temporal distortion, containment measures are under review.
RECOMMENDATION: Full quarantine of the lake and surrounding township. Initiate Phase 1 of PROTOCOL: TRAWLER.
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SECTION 2: GEOGRAPHIC AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Lake Graft is a glacial body of water measuring approximately 2.3 square miles, max depth 89 feet. Originally called Mapeganak by the Potawatomi, loosely translated to "the Place Beneath Words."
Local legends dating back to the early 1800s refer to the lake as "hungry" and attribute unnatural drownings, disappearances, and bizarre weather patterns to its presence. Numerous attempts to develop land near Graft Hollow failed due to inexplicable engineering issues and labor desertions.
In 1887, industrialist Thomas Wenslow financed a hydroelectric facility near Graft Hollow. It collapsed 39 days after opening, killing 12. Survivors reported hallucinations, including "giant eyes under the water" and "fish that spoke of ancient things."
Wenslow's personal journal (recovered in 1972) includes this passage:
> "We built it where something older waits. We turned its skin into profit, and it bit back."
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SECTION 3: PREVIOUS INCIDENTS
INCIDENT LOG (SUMMARY):
1906: Disappearance of local preacher Abel Merrin. Sermon notes mention "hooking the divine."
1933: Entire charter boat party (7 men) found drowned in shallow water. All with identical crescent-shaped wounds in their abdomens.
1959: Town records disappear for entire month of March. All calendars replaced with hand-drawn copies containing aquatic glyphs.
1998: Children report "talking shadows" during summer camp. Camp shut down after four develop identical circular burn marks on palms.
2017: Drone footage shows symmetrical patterns forming in fog above Graft Hollow. Footage corrupted within hours.
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SECTION 4: SUBJECT: ARTHUR PIKE
Background: Male, 42, former fishery technician. No family. Known recluse. Regular presence at Lake Graft.
Timeline of Final Days:
July 2nd: Launches solo fishing expedition at Graft Hollow. Returns visibly disturbed.
July 4th: Begins expressing paranoia to neighbors. Reports "changes in reflection."
July 6th: Seen at lake shore, barefoot, speaking in unknown dialect.
July 13th: Reported missing.
July 19th: Journal found on shoreline. No sign of Pike.
Recovered Journal (Ref. Doc 17G-JRNL-A): See accompanying document: Journal of Arthur Pike.
Key entries suggest:
Hallucinations involving translucent fish with black smoke-filled eyes.
Vomiting of barbed fishing hooks.
Dissociation, altered perception of time, dreams of submerged temples and language-as-ritual.
Implied metaphysical transformation or communion with submerged entity/entities.
Cross-reference with 1906 Merrin sermon notes shows near-identical phrasing.
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SECTION 5: PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
PHENOMENON A: "THE FISH"
Multiple witnesses over the past century have described catching or glimpsing fish-like entities that defy taxonomy:
Absence of gills, mouths, or normal sensory organs.
Presence of stitched or fused openings.
Intelligent response patterns (e.g., ceasing struggle upon observation).
Appear to communicate via emotional projection or internal monologue.
One account from 1933:
> "I pulled it up, and it didn't fight. Just looked at me, like it knew my name. I heard my mother's voice saying things she never said."
PHENOMENON B: THE LAKE'S BEHAVIOR
Lake Graft demonstrates signs of:
Localized gravitational anomalies (tools and light objects drawn toward center).
Non-Newtonian fluid behavior during specific lunar alignments.
Disruption of magnetic fields and GPS.
Occasional spontaneous fog formations that follow observers.
PHENOMENON C: MEMETIC CONTAGION
The Arthur Pike journal contains cognitohazardous phrases, including but not limited to:
> "We are bait." "The lake is a mouth." "It remembers who pulled first."
Exposure to more than 5 entries in one sitting has resulted in:
Visual hallucinations (e.g., hooks emerging from skin).
Compulsive sketching of aquatic symbols.
Aphasia.
Two agents placed on psychiatric leave after reading full journal.
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SECTION 6: SIMILAR GLOBAL CASES
Loch Feirg (Scotland): 1911, 1966, 2020 – recurring reports of "devotional fish" that change local religion.
Lake Gennesaret (Israel): Theological texts suggest an entity beneath responsible for mass hallucinations of miracles.
Lake Vostok (Antarctica): Deep-ice sonar pings returned structured responses resembling ancient phonemes.
Pattern suggests pan-global aquatic intelligence possibly pre-dating Homo sapiens.
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SECTION 7: INTERVIEW EXCERPTS
WITNESS: Calvin Meyers (age 84)
> "Saw it once when I was a boy. My daddy said don't look in the water too long. But I did. It looked back. Never fished since. It took something. Something that spoke with my voice."
WITNESS: M. Renner, Camp Counselor (1998)
> "They weren't dreams. The fish had hands. They tied knots in the air. They told the kids stories that were real before words existed. One girl still draws circles in her sleep."
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SECTION 8: RECOMMENDATIONS
Quarantine radius: 3 miles around Lake Graft.
Begin subliminal deprogramming for Pike-related witnesses.
Classify all references to Pike's journal under Level 7 Cognitive Containment.
Install underwater EM field stabilizers pending PROTOCOL: TRAWLER approval.
Consider amnestic treatment for entire township.
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SECTION 9: CLOSING NOTES
Something ancient lives beneath Lake Graft. Not in a physical sense alone, but in concept, in language, in invitation.
It is not passive. It is not dead.
We believe Pike initiated a dormant ritual. Not summoning. Remembering.
The lake does not pull. It waits to be pulled.
> DO NOT FISH THE HOLLOW.
END REPORT